Teen Team Features

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We design our Earthwatch Teen Expeditions specifically and exclusively for 15- to 18-year-olds. They’re unlike any other experience a teenager can have.

Do something special this summer: help excavate, study, and conserve what remains of a Roman villa near the ancient seaside city of Populonia, once a center of metalworking and trade. And meet fascinating people from around the world at the same time.

Your team will work at the site of a once-luxurious Roman villa on Poggio del Molino (Windmill Hill), overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The villa was built at the start of the 1st century A.D., when the main city of Populonia was mysteriously abandoned. People continued to live at the villa, though, until the end of the 5th century, so it is one of the few existing sources of information from this time period.

Live the life of an archaeologist, spending most of your time carefully unearthing artifacts and removing them for cleaning and study. You’ll also help catalog and map the locations of artifacts, and maybe try rebuilding original objects from the fragments you’ve discovered. You’ll even get to try your hand at creating tools using ancient methods. You’ll have an unparalleled chance to get close to Italy’s ancient past.

Daily life in the field

Itinerary

Day 1: Meet the team and travel to accommodations, welcome presentation

Days 2–6: Daily activity includes:

• Excavations

• Cataloging artifacts

• Mapping excavation sites

Days 2–7: Excavation in the morning, wrap up, farewell party

Day 8: Departure

Each day of an Earthwatch teen expedition offers a balance of hands-on research and the chance to explore your surroundings and to get to know the scientists and your teammates. Your team is led not only by professional researchers but also by at least one Earthwatch facilitator, who will always be around to help you get the most out of your experience.

Most days will begin with a morning briefing, and then you’ll head out the excavation site, where you will:

Excavate artifacts. You'll spend most of your time removing the earth around objects with trowels, brushes, and other tools.

Mapping excavation sites. To help record the layout the excavations and where objects have been uncovered, you will help draw features of the site.

Record and analyze artifacts. Help clean and catalog the finds you make, and analyze the source and age of stones used as building materials.

Conserve and preserve artifacts. When you find bits of pottery, you'll try to reconstruct the original vessel. You'll also draw and do some basic conservation of building decorations, such as mosaics.

In between your excavating hours, your team will likely visit some of Populonia’s other attractions, like the striking cemetery of Le Grotte with its underground chamber tombs that date from the 4th century B.C., and the Archaeological Museum of the Territory of Populonia in the town of Piombino. You’ll also get to try authentic Italian pizza.

Join expert archaeologists as they excavate some of the most important Roman sites in Italy.

Accommodations and Food

Accommodations and Food

Home-cooked Italian food

Short walk to village center

On-site laundry

You’ll stay in comfortable, modern apartments in the quiet village of Populonia Stazione. The shared bedrooms have twin beds. Along with your teammates and your Earthwatch facilitator(s), you’ll make breakfast in the well-equipped kitchen every morning, and in the evenings staff members will treat you to home-cooked Italian dinners. You’re welcome to help out and try your hand at some of these authentic recipes.

The team will eat lunch at a local café, which also offers Internet use for a small fee. From the accommodations, you’re a very short walk to the charming center of Populonia Stazione, where you and your teammates can visit a bakery, a pizzeria, and two small grocery stores.

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